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| Photograph: ColomboPage |
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena declared Theravada Buddhism the island’s biggest wealth, at a Buddhist religious festival in Kandy this week.
Speaking at the conclusion of the Esala Perahera festival at the president’s residence in Kandy, Mr Sirisena said,
"We have inherited high moral values that no other developed country in this world possesses, because of our proud culture which developed with the philosophy of the Buddha."
"The biggest wealth we can give to this troubled world is the Theravada Buddhism," he added.
Theravada Buddhism is the branch followed by the majority of Sinhala Buddhists on the island, with followers of the Mahayana sect coming under attack on the island in the past.
As is customary in Sri Lanka, the head of the state was subsequently presented with a set of religious scrolls as the Buddhist festival drew to a close.